This newsletter piece is a good opportunity to share digital safety advice and reminders from some of the courses that staff have attended and some of the safeguarding newsletters that we receive. Online games play an increasing part in the lives of the children in school so I have included the following:
- An excellent resource from the National Crime Agency’ CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) website regarding online gaming
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/gaming/
- Summary information about popular games Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite
- Parent Guide from National Online Safety for these three games
Roblox is a gaming platform where you can create your own games or play games that others users have made. There is the option to chat to other players too but this can be disabled. If your child is playing this game we strongly suggest that you check the privacy settings by selecting the gear icon once logged in.
Minecraft is a game that lets you build and create virtual worlds using building blocks/ There is a multi-player function to explore worlds created by other users. You can also play with or against other players in ‘combat’ and there is the option to chat. Again, we strongly suggest that chat features are disabled.
This is a free-to-play online game where up to one hundred players can play at once, either playing alone or in teams. Once again there is the chat feature. The National Crime Agency’s Safer Internet Centre has encouraged parents to play the game with their children in order to better understand it, and to have open and honest conversations about the strangers they may be playing with and talking to online while playing.
